Sound-proof door



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United States Patent SOUND-PROOF noon Michael J. Kodaras, Scarsdale,N.-Y.,- assignor to Elof Hansson, Inc., New York, N.'Y., a corporationof New York Application July 24, 1956, Serial No. 599,739 1 Claim. (Cl.20-16) The present invention relates to novel sound-proof .doors. Moreparticulraly, it relates to sound-proof door structures including woodenor metal-clad doors.

The use of thick solid core doors to close ofi the passageway betweenrooms in large part limits the trans- 7 portions may be spaced therefromto varying degrees.

' It is accordingly an object of'the present invention to provlde meansensuring as much sound transmission loss around the'door asis possiblewith a thick solid core door.

A further object. of the invention is to provide novel door anddoor-case constructions to eliminate sound transmission.

Still another object of the invention is to provide means ensuringcomplete and continuous contact between a door and its case.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide a novel door which canbe installed easily into a soundproof door installation.

In accordance with the present invention, a solid door of considerablemass is provided at its strike side and top with an adjustable metaledging for contact with an elastic gasket provided on the correspondingportions of the door-case. The metal edging is not subject to warping sothat its initial position will be maintained. By projecting beyond thedoor in places, the edging can accommodate for any warping of the doorbefore the latter is hinged to the case. On the hinge side, the door isbevelled and an adjustable wedge and gasket is provided to provide atight seal. Finally, the bottom is provided with a drop seal or draftexcluder which contacts the ground when the door is closed. A suitabledrop seal is shown in The Practical Application of Acoustic Principlesby D. J. W. Cullum' (1949) at page 86.

In a preferred embodiment, the door may be further provided with a soundtrap extending along the top and sides to reduce sound transmission evenfurther.

The invention will now be described more fully with reference to theaccompanying drawings, wherein:

Fig. l is an elevation of a novel door set in a door-case;

Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken along line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken along line 3-3 of Fig.1;

Fig. 4 is a sectional view similar to Fig. 2 but taken through amodified door; and

Fig. 5 is a sectional view similar to Fig. 3 but taken through the doorof Fig. 4.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings, in

Fig. 1 there is shown a wall 11 formed of plaster or the like andresting on floor 12. The wall is provided with an opening defined by ametal door buck or case 13 to which there is connected a door 14 bymeans of hinges 15.

A handle 16 serves to open the door in conventional manner.

As shown in Fig. 2, that side of the case 13 remote from hinges 15 isprovided with a projection 17 extending the full height of the case. Theprojection also extends along the top of the case, although this cannotbe seen in the drawing. The projection serves as an abutment and restfor the door when closed. 'A semicircular gasket 18 of flexible materialsuch as rubber extends inwardly of projection 17 and can be deformed bythe door so as to ensure contact between the door 14 and gasket 18 alongthe entire length of thegasket. Actually, while the door itself may bemade of wood or of other material covered by a thin sheet of metal, thatedge of the strike side of the door and the top edge are provided with ametal edging 19 adjustably fastened to the door by screws 20 passingthrough suitable slots. It is this edging 20 which makes contact withthe gasket 18. When the door is absolutely fiat and hung parallel to thedoor-case, as shown, the edging 19 will not project beyond the plane ofthe door at any point. When the door is Warped or hung out of parallelwith the door-case, or otherwise not completely flat, the edging 19 mayproject beyond the plane of the door at various places. The screws 20may be used to adjust the position of the edging 19 at the outset andsince the edging is not subject to warping, the initial seat will bemaintained during use.

The face of the case 13 adjacent the hinged side of the door is alsoprovided with a projection 21 extending the full height of the case. Atriangular wooden wedge 22 seats in the corner defined between theprojection 21 and the case 13 and a longitudinally extending strip ofsheet metal 23 is secured to projection 21 by screws 24 passing throughsuitable slots in such manner that the sheet 23 overlies wedge 22. Aflexible gasket 25 extends longitudinally of the strip 23, being securedthereto as by adhesive. The edge of the door 14 is bevelled at 26approximately parallel to wedge 22 and when the door is closed bevelledsurface 26 presses against gasket 25 to effect a seal. Leaf 15a of thehinge rests on the door and is secured thereto in conventional mannerwhile leaf 15b is received in suitable recesses provided in the case 13.

As shown in Fig. 3, one face of the door 14 is cut away and the cut-awayportion is hidden by a strip 27 secured to the door face by screws 28.Between strip 27 and the door in the cut-away space there is housed anautomatic drop seal or draft excluder 29 comprising a felt or rubber pad30 prevented from coming in contact with the floor 12 by a spring (notshown). The drop seal 29 is actuated by a button (not shown) which ispressed when the door is closed so as to drop the felt pad 30 andprevent sound transmission. When the door is opened, the button is freedand the spring urges the pad 30 upward and out of contact with the floorso that swinging of the door is facilitated.

The door shown in Figs. 4 and 5 has all of the features of that shown inFigs. 1 to 3. In addition, however, the sides of the door 14a which areprovided with edging 19, i.e., the strike side and top of the door, areprovided with a stepped groove 31. A sound absorbing material 32 such asrock wool, fiber glass, or the like, fills the bottom of the groove andis locked in place by a protective cover 33, such as perforatedhardboard, and glued in place so as to be substantially flush with thedoor. The hinged side of the door is provided with a deep shoulderedgroove 34, also packed at its bottom with sound absorbing material 32and covered at 33. A block of wood or the like 35 is fastened to thecase 13a and extends into groove 34 so as to form a labyrinth sealtherewith.

Since sound transmission due to leakage occurs around the periphery ofthe door, the addition of the sound trap reduces still further anytransmission of sound. The proto improve the impermeabiilty a and theblock 35 may also 'be' planed if the groove 34 is excessively reduced.in depth.

In Fig.5 it can be seen that both' faces b: the dooiil ia are cut awayandprovided with strips 27, two drop seals 29 being providedfor'attenuation of sound transmission.

Thus the door installation of Figs."4 and 5 is provided on top, bottomand both sides with a double barrier to soundtransmission so that forsubstantially all purposes it is sound-proof. The construction of Figs.1 to 3 is ad.- quate for most purposes and especially where there is aminor transmissionof sound through the'walls or win-, dows, in whichevent it clearly would serve no purpose of the door installation tosound transmission. I 7

It. is obvious that the door itself must, be of snflicient thickness sothat sound will not be transmitted through the door itself as with adiaphragm. Thus, for doors such as are shown in Figs. 1 to 3 suitablethicknesses range between about 1% inches and 2% inches, whether thedoor is wooden or metal clad. With more exacting sound attenuationdevices such as are shown in Figs. 4 and 5, the thickness preferablyexceeds 2 inches although for practical purposes it is not more than 3inches. 7

Thus, the mass of the door prevents direct sound transmissiontherethrough and thespecial seals herein described prevent leakagearound the door.

Various changes and modifications can be madewithout departing from thespirit and scope of the present invention and it is intended that suchobvious changes and modifications be embraced by the annexed claim.

What I claim is:

A sound-proof door installation for insertion in a wall, 1'

comprising a door case defining a doorway having a hinge side, a strikeside, a top and bottom, said case being provided with three projectionsextending into said doorway defined between the first of saidprojections and the side. of

said doorway and being directed toward said hinge means, said door beingprovided on its face directed toward said wedge means with a bevelextending from top to bottom along the hinge side, flexible gasket meanson said wedge means and contacting said bevel alongthe entire lengththereof when said door is closed, further flexible: gasket means on thesecond and third of said projections and extending toward said door,arigid metal edging inthe edge portions of the face ofsaid door.directed toward said projections, said edging extending along the strikeside and top of said door and contacting said further gasket means when.said door is closed, said edging being adjustably j mounted'upon saiddoor for movement in a direction parallel to the adjacent edge of saiddoor, said door having a recess extending in the sides and top thereof,sound absorbing material disposed in said recess, and a perforated covermounted in the outer end of said recess for holding said sound absorbingmaterial in place.

References Cited in the file of this patent" 1 UNITED; STATES PATENTS IMcCurdy July 31, 1883 1,231,069 Schaifert June 26,1917 1,673,565 a 1Heath j a; June 12, 1928 1,907, 94 Will ]M'a 9,'1933 2,180,177 TernstromV 'V V I Nov. 14, 1939 2,190,954 Stickel Feb. 20, 1940 2,379,193.Shields June 26, 1945 2,420,240

Haggerty May 6, 1947

